Running a Net Radio Station With Open-Source Software

Seven Linux enthusiasts decided that it would be cool to broadcast their own radio show over the Internet.

Starting Liveice

To start Liveice, go into the
/usr/local/liveice/bin and run liveice. You must
be able to connect to the broadcast server for Liveice to start
correctly. Figure 3 is a screen shot of what Liveice looks like
when started.

Figure 3. Liveice Startup Screen

Problems

We did not encounter any problems with either the LAME or
Liveice setup and configuration. They conform to the open-source
standard and are very simple to set up.

Line Input

We purchased an audio mixer that allows multiple microphones
to send audio into the line-in port on the sound card.
xqmixer recognizes the sound card
as audio in to send the stream through LAME to be encoded and send
output through the Liveice client. After the Liveice client
receives the input, the client streams the output over the Internet
to our Icecast server. Icecast receives the stream from Liveice and
relays it back to the Internet in an MP3 format to be interpreted
by any MP3 decoder client that our listeners choose to use.
Xmms and
Winamp seem to be the most popular
programs to decode MP3 streams.

The mixer provides a greater range of input options. We can
run a CDROM, microphones or an MP3 player right into the mixer and
out to the Internet. The open-source radio show runs a full range
of input to give the true radio feel when we broadcast. We use an
audio mixer with six ports for input. Each host has his own
microphone that jacks into the mixer, which then connects into the
line-in port of the sound card. Any device that generates audio
output can be plugged into the line-in port on the sound
card.

Problems

Liveice requires specific audio input quality. The sound
card, while it receives input, is still controlled by the tools
within the operating system. In our case we use xqmixer to control
the sound card hardware. On xqmixer, the record volume controls the
streaming rate that Liveice receives as input. If the record volume
is set too low, you will not hear any output. If it is set too
high, Liveice clips the audio. Clipping is an audio engineering
term that describes what happens when the audio signal is too
strong for the hardware to handle—it “clips” off part of the
signal, making it sound terrible. We adjusted our sound quality by
tuning the record volume. It's simple: fire up your station and
listen to yourself. If you do not hear anything, increase the
record volume. If the playout is clipping, reduce the record volume
until you get it right.

Conclusion

The http://www.opensourceradio.com/ show runs every Thursday
night from 8:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. EST. We discuss open-source
issues and use the full range of our mixing and MP3 conversion
capabilities. Anyone can do what we have done. With the exception
of the mixer, the computer hardware and the T1 connection,
everything was free. You can easily download all of the software
from the Internet to create an Internet radio station. We would
also like to say that despite our sound, no small animals are
injured during the course of our broadcast.

The hosts of open-source radio are professional
engineers by trade and hackers by night. The show they broadcast
reflects what they run into every day in the high-tech industry.
Andy, Rich, Brad, Paul, Tom, Jim and Jim have all worked to make
this dream a reality. You can reach open-source at
www.opensourceradio.com
or at dj@opensourceradio.com

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